US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that American forces should take to the streets of New York City while five policemen were shot elsewhere in clashes with crowds around the United States protesting the killing of a defenseless black American.
Late Monday evening, protesters shattered the facades and looted shops in New York, among them luxury shops on Fifth Street, and set fire to a mall in Los Angeles.
Authorities said that four policemen were shot in St. Louis and a fifth in Las Vegas was seriously injured.
Trump has threatened to use the military to combat the violence, which often erupted at night after a day of peaceful protests joined by various Americans. Trump ridiculed the local authorities, including state governors, for their way of dealing with the unrest.
"Oh, New York, summon the National Guard. The unfortunate and the losers are destroying you. Act fast," Trump said in his official Twitter account.
For his part, New York State Governor Andrew Como expressed his anger at the unrest in New York City, the largest American city, and said that the city police failed to protect businesses and the public from looting and other criminal activities on Monday night, adding that the city's mayor refused to receive the assistance of the National Guard.